Omg – the alliteration was unintentional (but the best thing I’ve done all week). This post is about my reading experience with Murderbot Diaries and why it’s now one of my favorite mini-series.

Niki’s Narrative Novella Review (Spoiler-Free)
The Murderbot Diaries
By Martha Wells
[5/5 stars]

All Systems Red: All Systems Red seemed to have everything I’d been hounding for in a good sci-fi – an interesting character, a compelling mystery, exploration, and some cool technology shit. Five pages into this novella and I was able to check off all the things. Hell, one sentence into this book and I knew we were going to get along (Wells is so good at opening lines. I haven’t even read The Wizard Hunters yet, but for years now I’ve been using it as a positive example of how to hook a reader). Murderbot was just so goddamned funny that I constantly felt on the verge of uncontrollable giggles the entire time. It spoke to my very introverted self like we’d been besties for years (ironically), but also spurred a level of compassion from me I haven’t given to a book in a long while. I came away from this first novella feeling like I’d just read a gem.

Artificial Condition: My feelings going into AC were tentative optimism. After all, sequels are never as good as the first, right? So if this could hold up to even 75% on how much I enjoyed All Systems Red, then I’d be good. The first few chapters were slowly paced and I really enjoyed reimmursing into Murderbot’s brain. Wells even had me laughing early on with MB’s interaction with a new character. And then the plot thickened and we were on our way to answering some questions. I lost myself for a few hours as the story snowballed to the end with a fantastic momentum that perhaps was even more of a ride than the first book. At this point, I went “omg, give me the next one,” and proceeded to troll the publisher and review sites until I lucked into a copy (okay, I didn’t really troll, but I was still exceptionally lucky).

Rogue Protocol: I braced myself for this book. My trust in this author and this series was so strong by this point that I just hopped in and buckled up without even asking where we were going. And I was treated to possibly my favorite of the bunch (it’s like combing fine hairs). With all the key components right up front, some amazing Murderbot feels that kind of rocked some of my perspectives on life (that’s deep), and crazy whirlwind action that almost gave me whiplash, it rocked. If I wasn’t convinced from how much I loved the first two books, I was definitely a huge, unapologetically screaming fangirl by this point. Holy smoley that was good.

Exit Strategy: I entered into this final installment a little worried. For the character, for my emotions, for that heightened expectations that comes from reaching the end of something truly fantastic and hoping the quality holds up. I was not disappointed. Exit Strategy had the perfect balance of all the amazing elements that make this series so special. Did I shed a tear at some point during this book? I can’t remember. It might have been a combination of laughing and crying, or just something in my eye. Either way, I have strong opinions about how much I’d love to see this world expanded on more. I still have a few questions, but more importantly I’d miss Murderbot too much. In an interview I read, Wells mentioned that this is the end of the story arc, but she’s already thinking about what to do with it next (yay!).

So if you need me, I’ll be in my cubicle recharging from this series and trying not to get snot on my phone. I really hate it when I leak.

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by Niki Hawkes